My name is Corrie Alexander, and I’m a thirty-something Canuck living in Ontario.

I’m what you’d recognize as a textbook homebody. I work from home. I eat at home. I exercise at home. I seldom leave the house save for exercise and errands.

And that was before quarantining was cool.

Like most introverts, it’s not that I don’t like people or going to social functions, but I can only do them so often and have to mentally prepare myself in advance. They’re just exhausting somehow.

Maybe it’s because I find it really difficult to put myself out there in person…

Intuitively, I’ve always suspected that the great outdoors was good for my health. Whenever I feel stressed, the urge to get outside for some fresh air is overwhelming; it’s incredible how even a 10–15-minute walk can turn my day around. Chances are, you have similar anecdotes on the soothing and refreshing effects of nature.

But now, there is scientific proof that spending time outside is indeed beneficial — even necessary — for the body, mind, and spirit. Any physical activity performed outdoors is known as “green exercise.” (Okinawans call it “forest bathing.”) …

I’d been suffering from migraines for years, but they became an increasingly debilitating problem in 2020. I went from having one every couple of months to two or three per week, with some lasting up to two days.

I absolutely hate taking prescribed medication, but by that summer, they were so bad I caved and saw a doctor who prescribed triptans. Those pills were a godsend and stopped a migraine in its tracks when I felt one coming on.

The bad news was, the migraines were still getting more frequent every month.

By November, I was desperate to find a…

The term “superfood” gets thrown around a lot these days. Chia seeds, berries, coconut oil, avocados, kale, and many others have all claimed the title at some point over the years. And while these foods certainly have some great health benefits, there’s also a lot of hype.

Yet, there’s one food with an imposing nutrition profile that flies under people’s radar far too often: The kiwifruit.

I always enjoyed kiwis for their sweet, tangy taste and the splash of color they added to my meals. But ever since I learned of all its health benefits, I’m nothing short of obsessed…

One frequently asked question I see on the internet is: How can I burn 1000 calories a day? The truth is, there are millions of activities that can help you burn 1000 calories a day. But I think there are more important questions to ask first. Like: Is burning 1000 calories a day sustainable? Or is it a one-way ticket to Binge Town and Injury City? Is setting such a goal helpful or counterproductive to reaching your health and fitness goals?

Ever the self-experimenter, I challenged myself to burn 1000 active calories a day for the entire month of April…

It was about four years ago when I made a goal to lose 25 lbs. Surprisingly, I lost the first 10 lbs pretty easily. By walking every day and making more sensible food choices, the weight just came off within a few months without me needing to do much else.

The next 7–8 lbs was a bit harder. I started strength training three times a week and counted my calories more carefully to keep the scale moving.

When I had less than 10 lbs to lose before reaching my goal, my weight loss came to a screeching halt for the…

Last week, I wrote an article about learning to enjoy hard exercise. I realized after I published it that although I knew how it was possible, I didn’t know why. What exactly is the science behind a fitness nut’s compulsion to exercise? I knew that it was about way more than losing weight or looking a certain way. On the contrary, those things became less and less important to me as I fell more deeply in love with exercise.

Compelled to find answers, I discovered a fantastic book called The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal.

Like me, McGonigal wanted…

As a rule, I am not a fan of strict fad diets because they aren’t sustainable or necessary for most people. The keto diet is no exception. However, over the past year, I’ve added several keto recipes to my menu because they still have some beneficial qualities that help me reach my fitness goals.

The difference is that I don’t follow it strictly, only for half of the day. And although I never enter ketosis — the primary goal of the keto diet — I’ve still been enjoying many other perks.

To be clear, I am not a nutritionist or…